Acceptability of breast cancer risk prediction in young women
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Breast cancer risk prediction in young women (aged 30-39 years): Developing care pathways and assessing acceptability.
IRAS ID
270570
Contact name
Sarah Bellhouse
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Breast cancer starts to become more common in women in their 30s and is the most common cause of death in women aged 35-50. In approximately 80% of such cases, the women do not have a family history and have not been identified as being at increased risk. Identifying these women is a major unmet need as they could be offered earlier breast cancer screening or medication to stop cancer from developing.
One potential way of identifying these women is to give women the opportunity to find out their breast cancer risk. Previous research has shown that this approach is possible and acceptable for women aged 50+ enrolled in the NHS Breast Screening Programme. Therefore, we would like to know whether it is an acceptable approach for women younger than 50 years and if so, how the service could be implemented.
In this study we aim to develop acceptable and accessible care pathways and materials for providing breast cancer risk estimates to women aged 30-39 years. We will first conduct focus groups with women to optimise invitation, engagement and access methods for the risk prediction system and associated care pathways. We will also ask women to discuss potential barriers to uptake of the system and reflect on their information and support needs in relation to the system and associated care pathways. We will then conduct focus groups with general practitioners to address the best way in which to implement this initiative and explore optimal levels of primary care involvement. Think aloud interviews will then be conducted with women to review the proposed risk assessment materials.
The study is part of Sarah Bellhouse’s PhD studentship and is funded by the Manchester Cancer Research Centre.
REC name
N/A
REC reference
N/A